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Scotland’s Gardens SCheme is Scotland’s growing, giving and inspiring community of garden-lovers. Our mission is to raise funds for charity by encouraging, promoting and supporting garden openings, whilst making the experience inspiring, rewarding and enjoyable for all. We are seeking new volunteers across Scotland to join our local volunteer teams to help support gardens to open their gates to the public and raise money for charity. This is a wonderful opportunity to: · Be part of a volunteer team which helps to raise funds for hundreds of charities by sharing gardens with visitors · Use your skills to help promote, organise and/or support gardens to open their gates to the public and raise money for charity · Meet lovely, like-minded people and share the joy of gardens and gardening We have a variety of different opportunities to match your interests and availability, including event volunteers, media volunteers, district organiser and treasurer roles. Visit our website for full details and to fill in our expression of interest form.

What Do We Need Help With? There are so many different roles you can do as a volunteer for Oxfam, there's bound to be a role that suits you! Shop Assistant Volunteer - covering a bit of everything in the shop. Trainee Lead Volunteer - get some supervisory experience, learn how to run a shift in the Shop Manager's absence. Online sales Volunteer - Spot the unusual donations when they come in, research their value, list them and despatch them when they sell. A way to learn about e-commerce. Stockroom Volunteer - Not comfortable yet to go on the shop floor? No problem, join our stockroom team and be part of the Oxfam family. Admin and Recruitment Volunteer - Help the shop team with the recruitment and training records of the volunteers and learn about the admin processes required with running a shop. Social Media Volunteer - Do you have some pizazz with social media posts? Can you engage with new followers? Some of our shop teams could do with your help! Why we want you Together we can help people facing poverty all over the world – all from right here, in this very shop. Join our friendly team as an Oxfam Volunteer and you’ll find yourself at the heart of your community, making amazing things happen. What Oxfam does Oxfam is a movement of people from around the world who won’t live with poverty. We have two key aims: Responding to emergencies happening in the world now, giving vital support to people facing poverty due to conflict, climate change and natural disasters. Empowering communities to challenge and change systems that promote inequality, so together we can beat poverty for good. Oxfam shops have been fundraising to support Oxfam’s work since 1947, raising millions every year to support people facing poverty. Find out more about Oxfam’s work at oxfam.org.uk

The aim of this project is to bring people together of all ages to grow and share the harvest from our community garden. Crops harvested from the garden will be used to create simple healthy meals or snacks, and feed the community. Tasks involved are basic gardening tasks (no prior knowledge needed), planting seeds, potting up, weeding, watering and harvesting of the crops. For the more experienced gardeners propagation and pruning techniques will be taught, and effort will be made to upskill as you need.

South Ayrshire Council Ranger Service are offering the opportunity for young persons aged between 13 to 18 to learn new, or develop existing skills in practical outdoor work. These sessions will introduce essential environmental conservation skills like basic bushcraft, use of manual hand tools and invasive non-native species control. The programme will run once a month on a Sunday, from 10am to 12pm. Booking is essential so to book a place or for more information, please feel free to contact the ranger service via ranger.service@south-ayrshire.gov.uk The sessions are held with the collaboration of the Friends of Fullarton Woods - a small charity concerned with the restoration and care of the ancient woodlands of Troon. In operation since 2015, raising funds for improvements and planting. We host regular volunteer work parties, tackling jobs such as invasive species control, tree planting and repairing paths. Together with the South Ayrshire Ranger Service and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Ayrshire, we regularly involve schools and community groups in woodland activities. No experience or tools required. We have tasks to suit all abilities.

The Ayrshire Coastal Path is managed and maintained by volunteers, we have no paid staff. The Management Board, which looks after all elements of path management, currently has 10 members. We then have a bank of around 50 Pathminders who come out if and when available to help with a variety of maintenance tasks. Last but not least, we have around 20 Path Wardens who each have responsibility for inspecting a specific section of the ACP a few times each year and reporting back any work required to be carried out. All Path Wardens automatically register on the bank of Pathminders as well, and it is up to you all whether, or how frequently you join in any of the maintenance days. More details on those below! Availability for maintenance days: While some of our Pathminders are freely available most weeks, others have work commitments, hobbies, children/grandchildren, or other commitments on certain days, and can only manage out occasionally. If we can get 2-4 out on one call-out we’re quite happy, as this usually allows most tasks to be done. But with over 50 members, we are now able to muster 8-12 for major projects requiring a lot of manpower. Appropriate Clothing: Wear heavy boots/wellies, heavy gloves, warm layers of old clothes, old waterproof/windproof jacket and trousers as appropriate. Frequency: Our Pathminders try to get out on weekdays (Mon-Fri) once a week, to deal with routine maintenance work, or sort out emergency problems as the need rises. We may also concentrate for several weeks/months on a major path improvement project. From time to time we have work parties at weekends. Path Wardens are required to inspect their section at least twice a year (ideally in spring and autumn) and also after any heavy storms that might have caused damage to paths, steps or bridges. Work Effort: We find that three hours' work is usually long enough, though we can push it to four to get something finished if necessary. Tend to have an 0830-0930 start to allow for travel time, and finish by 1230. Occasionally, with long travel-distance projects, this might be a mid-afternoon finish. Bring a drink and snack as we do stop for a break. Type of Work: In April, jointly with Ayr Rotary Club, we have our big Annual Beach Clean (from Girvan to Troon) during which we involve a lot of public volunteers from the local communities on a one-morning basis. In spring and summer, we concentrate on grass strimming, and lopping of brambles and small branches, etc; plus dealing with any urgent maintenance problems like fence or gate repairs that may arise. In late summer/early autumn, we spend a lot of time deadheading sea radish, thistles, dockens, burdock and nettles, to reduce spread of seedling plants the next year. In late autumn/winter, we turn our attention to heavier work - lopping back overhanging branches and scrub; completing big improvement projects like bridge building, the replacement of over 90 steps, and whin chip re-surfacing the path at Fisherton Gully and repairing any storm damage to our coastal dune paths, etc. Horses for Courses: While many of our volunteers are fit and keen to tackle any job (The Heavy Mob), we have a number who may not be physically able to do this, and enjoy the lighter tasks of lopping and cutting back seed-heads, or using a strimmer, (once trained!) in the spring and summer months (The Light Brigade). It can be a bonus to have some groups available for light work, leaving others free to get on with the heavier tasks. But don’t feel restricted in choice, since even during bigger projects, there are also light jobs, pruning, fetching and carrying, litter picking, etc, that can be done by members of The Light Brigade – which helps those doing the heavy work. Callout Procedure: A group email is usually sent out to all registered Pathminders at the weekend with a choice of work dates (weather dependent) and detailing work plans - and take the biggest number of members available for the best weather choice of days. We don’t work in the rain if we can help it! Whether you're registering as a Pathminder, a Path Warden or both, thanks for volunteering. It's great fun - in great company!

Our groups are entirely volunteer run and led, and are at the front lines for key engagement with local people, with their extensive programme of walks, talks, day trips and indoor meetings that group members, and members of the public, can attend and enjoy. We want you to become a part of this strong community of nature champions. We're looking for people who are passionate about connecting people with nature, and helping in the smooth running of the group, with the option to help out in various ways! Right now we are particularly keen on getting volunteers who are a part of the Highlands for our RSPB Highland Local Group. With lockdown forcing people indoors and out of their normal daily routines, they became much more aware, and better understood the importance of the outdoors for their mental health, general well-being and more. Doubled with the on-going climate crisis, people are waking up to the fact that we need to indulge in and save nature more than ever before. The RSPB Highland Local Group want to inspire their local communities to reconnect with nature. By becoming part of the group, you'll have the chance to be involved in so many of the groups aspects. From fundraising to events, maintenance to membership, you'll have the opportunity to use your existing skills (and learn new ones) to build the group and make it an ever more important aspect of local RSPB connections with people. Being a community group, you'll also have the opportunity to make new friends and relationships, have fun, and know you are enthusing people about the joys of nature. We have groups across the UK and further details can be found at www.rspb.org.uk/groups. Feel free to contact your local group direct or go along to an event or two to find out more. And if you can't find a group near you and would like to help set one up please click on "Ask a question". All you need is a willingness and ability to help with one or more of the varied activities of our RSPB groups, and able to give a minimum of a few hours each month (or more!).

volunteers to assist with maintenance and practical tasks at Dunnet Forest, Caithness. This is a community woodland supported by volunteers. The green Gym meets Thursdays weekly and is a great way to meet people, get outdoors and make a difference in this wonderful woodland.

Who can resist the chance to help restore a 'lost' 15th century walled garden here in Edinburgh? Or to get fit without paying gym costs? We are keen to recruit volunteers for a wide variety of gardening tasks. You don't have to have specific gardening skills – enthusiasm counts. A wide variety of activities are involved in the restoration project – digging, clearing, weeding, planting, general repair and maintenance of sheds, greeting, helping with planning, harvesting seasonal produce being some of them.

Castlebank Horticultural Centre sits within the historic Castlebank Park, on the banks of the Clyde in Lanark. Lanark Community Development Trust are looking for an enthusiastic individual to facilitate the maintenance and propagation from their rose collection. There is an opportunity for the development of the rose garden - including for the introduction of new plants and cultivars. Castlebank volunteers are supported by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers. Together, both staff and volunteers will propagate and grow a wide range of heirloom vegetables, herbs, rare edible plants, herbaceous, perennials, alpines, succulents, trees and shrubs for education and the restoration of historic Castlebank Park. The volunteer position would be ideal for an experienced gardener who is enthusiastic about roses and is looking to use their skills and knowledge to help out in the community. The volunteer will work with the Trusts' Educational Gardener, Stuart and fellow volunteers to maintain and develop the rose garden and herbaceous borders in the historic Castlebank Park terraced gardens. Specific tasks and duties: - Leading maintenance of the rose gardens including educating volunteers, dead heading, organic spraying, feeding, pruning etc. - Helping to maintain and develop herbaceous borders - Helping to maintain infrastructure

Castlebank Horticultural Centre sits within the historic Castlebank Park, on the banks of the Clyde in Lanark. Lanark Community Development Trust are looking for an enthusiastic individual to facilitate their plant propagation activities to provide their garden with healthy, pesticide free, organically grown plants and seedlings. Castlebank propagation volunteers are supported by dedicated team of staff and volunteers. Together, staff and volunteers grow a wide range of heirloom vegetables, herbs, rare edible plants, herbaceous, perennials, alpines, succulents, trees and shrubs for education and the restoration of historic Castlebank Park. This volunteer position would be ideal for a person looking to gain valuable experience prior to entering a career in horticulture - or for an experienced gardener looking to use their skills to help out in the community. The volunteer would work with their Educational Gardener, Stuart and fellow volunteers to produce quality, organic seedlings, herbs and other plants for growing on in the Education Gardens and Castlebank Park, and to sell at Castlebank Horticultural Centre events to raise funds for ongoing projects. Volunteers also help maintain and improve the propagation area including infrastructure and gardens. Specific tasks and duties: - Propagating by seed, cutlings, division and transplanting - Watering, fertilising, weeding and plant detailing - Helping to maintain infrastructure and propagation surrounds